Pictured: Kenny Florian and Takanori Gomi yawn their way through a “staredown” at yesterday’s weigh-ins

Remember back when UFC seemed to hold a show every six weeks or so? In a given month, a MMA fan’s time was sentenced to one PPV, with something here and there on TV, with the occassional time off for good behavior? Friends, those days are gone. With this, its third live event in less than two weeks; ZUFFA clearly expects you to be committed to your relationship.

Eh… well, there are lots of worse problems to have.

UFC Fight Night 21: Florian vs. Gomi, tonight airing from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, doesn’t appear to have quite as strong a lineup as the last “free” outing, UFC on Versus: Vera vs. Jones, at least not on paper. But, like they say, the fights don’t happen on paper. The Versus show’s succession of quick knockouts left some fans feeling a little empty anyway, and so maybe this one will exceed expectations. It definitely boasts an interesting main event, with the UFC debut of former PRIDE standout Takanori Gomi against Kenny Florian, who is looking to continue his road back to contention following a one-sided loss to lightweight kingpin BJ Penn last Summer.

Special thanks to Combat Lifestyle for the weigh-in picture above. As always, our predictions are for entertainment purposes only. Offering predictions this time are Bryan Belangia (BB), Jacob Lawton (JL), and me (TH).

Main Event Lightweight Bout: Kenny Florian (12-4) vs. Takanori Gomi (31-5)

JL: The first (well, and last) PRIDE lightweight titlist Takanori ‘The Fireball Kid’ Gomi makes his UFC debut against perennial uppercarder Kenny ‘KenFlo’ Florian. Gomi, coming in off a two-fight win streak, has dynamic, powerful strikes and explosive takedowns, usually accompanied by lethal ground and pound. However, he has shown himself to be susceptible to attacks from the bottom before — a weakness the BJJ Black Belt Florian can exploit, with a little help from his infamous razor elbows, of course. Look for Florian to dance clear of Gomi’s striking, and wait for the Japanese star to tire, and look for a takedown. Once there, Florian will wrap Gomi up in his guard and deliver his famous elbows to the dome. Rinse and repeat until mid-round three, when a knackered Gomi gets caught in a submission to end the fight. Admittedly, you do have to take into consideration just how heavy Gomi’s hands are for a lightweight, so don’t be too shocked if the PRIDE superstar catches Florian early before his famously poor cardio comes back to haunt him. Nevertheless, I’ll take Florian via third round submission.

BB: It’s been a few years since Gomi has fought anyone on the level of Florian, and in that time span he’s had a couple of embarrassing losses. I really don’t see how Gomi can win this fight. I’d be more than glad to be proven wrong and see the old explosive Gomi but seeing their fights now, I’d say that Florian has the technical edge in all areas. Florian by decision.

TH: Yeah, I was suprised by Florian’s improved boxing skills against Clay Guida in his last bout and I think they’ll serve him well here. Meanwhile, Gomi has appeared past his prime lately, and looked really lost in his only North American bouts: even looking for a way out against Nick Diaz, and totally dismantled by BJ Penn. Florian may be a step below those two but he has enough to get the better of Gomi both standing and on the mat. Florian by decision.

Co-Main Event Heavyweight Bout: Roy “Big Country” Nelson (13-4) vs. Stefan Struve (23-3)

JL: TUF 10 winner Nelson makes what some call his “formal” UFC debut against the 6’11” ‘Skyscraper’ Struve. Both men are true mixed martial artists, at home on the feet and on the ground - top and bottom. Struve’s long limbs make his guard a very dangerous place to be, and make striking with him a tricky proposition too. Nelson does have power, as demonstrated against Brendan Schaub at the TUF 10 Finale, but he has never stepped in against a top Heavyweight and won. Neither has Struve, but I feel the Dutchman will has the skills to win here. Look for Struve to submit Nelson in the second round.

BB: Roy Nelson really hasn’t had a big win yet in his career, however we have seen him grow significantly as a fighter after every fight. He doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses in his game and won’t hesitate to take the fight to the mat but if he does that against Struve he could be in trouble. Since he got blasted by Junior dos Santos, Struve has won three straight and two by submission. This is a really close fight but I’d have to give the edge to Nelson. Nelson by decision in a fight in which he probably won’t gain any fans.

TH: Struve is only 22 and looks to have a great future in MMA. But I thought Paul Buentello was able to catch him a bit too easily in their bout and I think Nelson can do the same. A black belt under Renzo Gracie, Nelson also has a ground game that’s probably a bit underrated. I see him keeping it close on the feet, score the occassional takedown, and bang out a “Big Country” decision win.

Middleweight Bout: Nate Quarry (12-3) vs. Jorge Rivera (17-7)

JL: Two well rounded, solid UFC midcarders dance here in a bout guaranteed to deliver some fireworks. Quarry has that golden combination of heavy hands and a questionable chin, while Rivera can flourish striking and from the bottom. This fight means little to the title picture, but it should be entertaining, with Rivera sneaking a coin flip decision after three exciting rounds.

BB: Other than his submission loss to Demian Maia in 2008, Quarry has looked great in his last few fights. His fight against Tim Credeur was just brutal and showed what kind of heart the guy has as well as how hard his head is. Quarry is a guy that I think has improved over the last few years and that’s more than I can say for Rivera. Rivera just always seems like the same guy every time I see him fight and I don’t think he’ll have anything for Quarry. Quarry by TKO in the first.

TH: I mainly like this bout because both guys are older than me. Quarry has basically only lost to the best and strikes me a bit stronger all around than Rivera, who has some questionable losses to go with some strong wins. Nate should be able to have his way in both striking and grappling, and I’d expect Rivera’s chin to give out late. Quarry, T/KO 2.

Lightweight Bout: Ross Pearson (10-3) vs. Dennis Siver (15-6)

JL: Another TUF winner in Pearson takes to the Octagon against tough German scrapper Dennis Siver. Pearson is on a winning streak, and his combination of solid stand up and savage ground and pound make him a tricky fighter to face. Siver, however, is also undefeated in his last four fights, with three of those victories coming in the UFC, and all of them via stoppage. A similar fighter to Pearson, he is better versed in jiu-jitsu, put probably not as strong standing. A tight fight goes to the scorecards with Pearson squeaking a victory via decision.

BB: Pearson is hands down the better fighter. I thought he was a good fighter on TUF but I didn’t realize how good he was until the Aaron Riley fight. He completely dominated Riley in every aspect. I expect a fairly swift first round TKO for Pearson.

TH: Aaron Riley is a quality fighter, and a quality guy — I met him years ago when he trained here in the Seattle area. But I’m not sure a victory over him says that much more than a victory over a Paul Kelly, who Siver stopped last year. I see this as a surprisingly even match, where one would generally expect a showcase bout for TUF winner Pearson. Look for this one to go to the judges, where the slightly better grappler Pearson narrowly takes the decision.

Enjoy the fights!